France: Painful Re-Entry

In France, the term la rentree does not refer
only to spacemen plunging back into the earth's atmosphere but also to
vacationers returning to the daily grind from their month-long August
break. This year, re-entry for millions of Frenchmen was as rough as it
ever was for an astronaut in his red-hot cap sule. For none was it more
painful than President Georges Pompidou.

Price Police. In the wake of his 121% devaluation of the franc, Pompidou
launched an austerity program that featured a freeze on most prices.
Despite the efforts of the...